Site: Niitsitapiisinni: Our Way of Life
URL:
http://www.glenbow.org/blackfoot/Institution: Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Designer[s]: Rare Method, Calgary, Alberta (multi media firm)
Category: Education
Explanation: Nitsitapiisinni -- Our Way of Life -- www.glenbow.org/blackfoot is an educational website for students in grades 4 - 6 with activities designed to engage students as they learn about Blackfoot culture. The project was a unique collaborative partnership between the Glenbow Museum, members of the Blackfoot (Kainai) Confederacy, and the Alberta Online Consortium Glenbow Museum was the lead partner in the project, and took content direction from our Community Team, a group of Blackfoot Elders/traditionalists representing the tribes of the Blackfoot Confederacy. Our educational partners, the Alberta Online Consortium, as well as Blackfoot educators, provided resources for educators and information on learning as it relates to Blackfoot culture. The project was made possible through the Virtual Museum of Canada Investment Programme.
This project presents history and culture of the Blackfoot as they know and understand it; not as it is re-interpreted by non-Blackfoot people. In this collaboration, the Blackfoot are speaking in their own voice. In addition to the traditional stories and knowledge represented on the site, the story of the Blackfoot people is told through Glenbows extensive holdings of Blackfoot culture, including artifacts, photographs, documents, audio and video -- the strongest Blackfoot collection in Canada.
Glenbow is a Canadian leader in its work with First Nations and developed considerable networks with our Blackfoot communities in the development of our permanent gallery Nitsitapiisinni -- Our Way of Life. These relationships provided the basis for the Blackfoot expertise in the web project. All site content was developed, approved, and vetted by an external advisory Blackfoot Community with members from the Siksika, Kainai, Blackfeet and Piikani Nations. The Alberta Online Consortium conducted summative evaluation of the site. The website also features a Teacher Toolkit conceived by the Alberta Online Consortium and developed by Blackfoot and non-native educators. The Toolkit includes strategies for teachers on how to use the project in class. The site is multilingual (English, French and Blackfoot) and targeted to meet learning outcomes in the grade 4, 5 and 6 new Alberta Social Studies curriculum. Even though the audience for the project is very specific, the Team was careful to develop a project that would appeal to audiences of all ages, and to create a site which targeted both First Nations non-First Nations people. The site also serves as a before and after-visit tool for students to the Museums Nitsitapiisinni -- Our Way of Life exhibition, the permanent gallery which provided the basis for the content for this online experience.
Project Goals for the Site:
1) To develop an online environment where Blackfoot people can present their culture to ensure cultural continuity for future generations of Blackfoot.
2) To give non-Blackfoot young people (primary audience grades 4-6) an understanding of the complexity and uniqueness of Blackfoot culture.
3) To develop a product that is a source of authentic Blackfoot content for the school audience and the general user.
4) Develop educational support materials and resources for teachers.
The user experience for the site is an immersive one, and features four Flash-based activities to engage young people in the life of the Blackfoot. The activities were designed specifically to meet certain learning goals. "How We Lived with the Land" depicts life in the mid-1800s and is developed so that students will understand the relationship between the Blackfoot people and the world around them, and the efforts required for survival as the Blackfoot move through their yearlong cycle. In "How We Lived with the Buffalo" students understand the steps needed for a successful buffalo jump; the important contribution each person makes towards the success of a hunt; the importance of the buffalo to Blackfoot culture; and learn about the physical characteristics of buffalo. "How We Lived with Other People" demonstrates the relationships the Blackfoot had with external parties (other First Nations, fur traders, government) and the effect they had on Blackfoot culture and way of life. With "How We Lived with our Families" students learn about the daily life of a Blackfoot boy or girl (past and present) and understand the importance of his/her relationship with family members and the community.
From a design perspective, the site echoes the colours and textures unique to the landscape of southern Alberta. Images of the contemporary southern Alberta landscape and its people have also been used to give a sense of the Blackfoot environment today. The site was produced in both Flash and HTML, and was developed according to WC3 Accessibility Standards. It contains images of some 47 artifacts, 82 archival photos, 10 pieces of streaming media and 8 traditional stories. All audio on the site (traditional stories, key Blackfoot words) is in Blackfoot (with English and French translation).
The site was designed by a Calgary new media firm, Rare Method, and an internal Glenbow team managed all aspects of the development of the site. The team included the Project Manager -- Melanie Kjorlien, Senior Curator -- Gerald Conaty, Curator -- Beth Carter, as well as support from our photography and marketing areas.
The online project is a dynamic experience for the user and stands as a forum for Native and non-Native communities to learn with one another in a way not always possible in the physical world. It represents the exciting potential of web technologies to deliver experiences that serve the needs of both First Nations publics and contemporary museums.
From the beginning, this project was conceived of from a Blackfoot world view. At its core is an approach that is not object-centred, but story-centred. However, objects, photographs, audio, and video content remain important elements with which to tell the stories identified by the project team. At the heart of this project is the belief that the Blackfoot are experts in their own culture. Furthermore, the project demonstrates the potential of web technologies as powerful tools in the development of online museum audiences. This project stands as a national/international model for working with First Nations to develop effective online tools and educational resources which can assist in developing new knowledge about aboriginal communities, both within those communities and beyond.
All audio on the site (traditional stories, key Blackfoot words) is in Blackfoot (with English and French translation). By maintaining the Blackfoot in its original format, users unfamiliar with the spoken language have the opportunity to hear it and read a translation. Additionally, the Blackfoot language is currently threatened because few young people speak it, and those elders who are fluent are dying. Having young Blackfoot people access this site in their own language serves as inspiration for them. The project is also accessible in French and English.
An important aspect of this site was the representation of Blackfoot culture as a living culture with strong roots to the past. It questions many popular representations of First Nations cultures as cultures that are not contemporary or changing. The site demonstrates that the Blackfoot have endured incredible hardship, but have nonetheless worked to transition their culture into one that is moving forward. To ensure that cultural representation was developed in a culturally appropriate way, a series of protocols were developed which guided content development:
1) All content developed was formed, approved and vetted by a Blackfoot Advisory Team
2) Teacher toolkit development team included both Blackfoot and non-native educators
3) There was an understanding and respect of culturally sensitive information
4) Respect for complexity of Blackfoot culture was assumed
5) Information was presented in first person
6) Information was presented in a way that is appropriate to Blackfoot culture and their interpretation of Blackfoot history
The project is innovative in its presentation of Blackfoot culture from a Blackfoot perspective. The project themes and activities were developed by the Blackfoot Advisory Team which recommended topics to be explored from a first person perspective. The Project Themes and Activities are:
Relationships within families: A Day in the Life of a Blackfoot Boy or Girl Activity
Relationships with larger family groups and with the land: Moving Camp Activity
Relationships with other clans and the land: Buffalo Jump Activity
Relationships with Other First Nations, Fur Traders and Government: Our
Relationships with Others Activity
Included in each activity is a component that focuses on Blackfoot culture today. This was deemed important by the Elders who wanted to demonstrate the vitality of Blackfoot culture to non-Blackfoot and young Blackfoot people The Blackfoot world view assumes that Blackfoot spirituality is integral to the Blackfoot way of life. Thus references to spirituality are incorporated into each activity, not as a separate section.
While discussions around the representation of First Nations in museums have been a part of museum culture, how to teach First Nations material in culturally appropriate ways is still something many teachers in our school systems are striving to do. This resource provides teachers with culturally appropriate recommendations on how to treat Blackfoot material, and how to approach Blackfoot students. It positions the museum as a culturally significant provider of First Nations education, and bridges the gap between Blackfoot and Non-Blackfoot cultures.
Nominated by:
Kirstin Evenden
Manager, New Media Initiatives
Central Services
Glenbow Museum
CANADA
www:
http://www.glenbow.orgSee the Museums and the Web 2006 Best of the Web site
http://www.archimuse.com/mw2006/best/for the results anytime after March 24, 2006.
All sites are reviewed by the Best of the Web judges. Nominating a
site multiple times does NOT improve its chances of winning an award.
Jennifer Trant and David Bearman, Archives & Museum Informatics
MW2006 Conference Co-Chairs
http://www.archimuse.com/mw2006/
